A huge music festival marking the 30th anniversary of the Stone Roses’ Spike Island gig might not go ahead because of public safety concerns.
Tickets are already on sale for Spike Island - The Resurrection, a tribute to the legendary Widnes gig that saw 30,000 people converge on the former waste dump.
But the event could still be refused a licence after objections from the police, fire brigade and local council.
The authorities are concerned that the island’s single access point, under the Mersey Gateway Bridge, is too narrow and “has the potential to cause a crush”.
Up to 15,000 people are expected at the gig in May, reduced from an initial 20,000 in an attempt to address this problem.
However, concerns still remain, meaning Halton Council could decide to refuse the event a licence.
Objecting to the event’s licensing application, Halton Council’s environmental health department said it was also concerned that surrounding construction projects would make it difficult for pedestrians to reach Spike Island safely and that drunk patrons could fall into the canal after the event finished.
Cheshire Police has echoed these concerns, adding that the gig’s organiser, Lightbulb Festivals, had staged an event in Warrington last year that required the force to bring in 20 officers more than planned because “public safety during egress had not been given sufficient consideration by the organisers”.
The force’s objection said: “These officers were used to form a barrier along the road due to the number of people who just walked out into the road whilst on their phones or generally just not paying attention.”
Other concerns raised by the objections include a lack of detail on the number of security staff at the event, the limited availability of water on Spike Island and whether the local rail network can cope with an influx of 15,000 people.
The environmental health officer said: “It is not clear from the plan if the potential increase in passenger volumes has been discussed with the train operators and companies responsible for station management to ensure that they have the capacity to deal with an increased volume of passengers on the trains and at the stations on the day of the event.”
The gig is due to take place on May 16 and will be headlined by tribute act The Clone Roses, supported by tributes to other 90s Manchester acts including Oasis, The Smiths and New Order.
Halton Council’s regulatory committee will meet on Wednesday evening to determine whether to allow the event to go ahead as planned.
